When are the Kharijites shown on the map?

The border data draws the Kharijites AD 751–754, 757–762, in 2 separate periods. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.

How large were the Kharijites?

At their greatest extent drawn on this map, the Kharijites covered about 252,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives them across the years they are drawn, not necessarily their greatest extent in history.

Africa · Islam and the Maghreb

Kharijites

drawn on the map AD 751–754, 757–762

See it on the map → Wikipedia ↗

Shown on the map: AD 751–754, 757–762 (2 periods)
Peak area: 252k km²
Region: Africa

Overview

The Kharijites (al-Khawārij, "those who go out") were not a dynasty but a revolutionary religious-political movement — the first sect to emerge within Islam — that repeatedly carved out rebel states across North Africa in the 8th century, the episodes reflected on the map in 751–762. Born of the First Fitna, the movement began in 657 when a faction of Caliph Ali's army rejected his acceptance of arbitration with Mu'awiya at Siffin, raising the slogan "judgment belongs to God alone" (lā ḥukma illā li-llāh). Defeated by Ali at Nahrawan in 658, they avenged themselves in 661 when the Kharijite Ibn Muljam assassinated Ali in the Great Mosque of Kufa — an act that opened the way to the Umayyad Caliphate.

History

Kharijite doctrine was radical and egalitarian: any Muslim, Arab or non-Arab, slave or free, could become caliph if morally irreproachable, and sinful rulers must be deposed by force; grave sinners among Muslims were branded unbelievers, and militant wings like the Azariqa and Najdat licensed their killing. During the Second Fitna (680–692) these militant branches briefly controlled much of Arabia and southern Persia before the Umayyads destroyed them by 699. Suppressed in the east, the movement found fertile new ground among the Berbers of North Africa, who resented Arab fiscal exploitation and second-class status. Missionaries from Basra spread the moderate Sufri and Ibadi branches among the tribes by the 730s.

Decline and legacy

The explosion came in 740 with the Great Berber Revolt under the Sufri Maysara al-Matghari, which annihilated Umayyad armies at the Battles of the Nobles and Bagdoura and severed most of the Maghreb from Damascus. Out of this upheaval Kharijite forces seized Kairouan in 757–758, and durable Kharijite states emerged: the Ibadi Rustamid imamate at Tahert (777–909), the Sufri Midrarids of Sijilmasa (c. 757–976), and the Berghawata and others. Though Abbasid armies retook Ifriqiya by 761, the Kharijite imprint was permanent: Ibadi communities survive today in Oman's majority and in the M'zab valley (Algeria), Djerba (Tunisia), and the Nafusa Mountains (Libya). Modern historians see in Kharijism both the prototype of Islamic extremism and an early egalitarian, almost proto-democratic challenge to hereditary Arab aristocracy.

Common questions

What were the Kharijites?: The Kharijites (al-Khawārij, "those who go out") were not a dynasty but a revolutionary religious-political movement — the first sect to emerge within Islam — that repeatedly carved out rebel states across North Africa in the 8th century, the episodes reflected on the map in 751–762.
When are the Kharijites shown on the map?: The border data draws the Kharijites AD 751–754, 757–762, in 2 separate periods. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.
How large were the Kharijites?: At their greatest extent drawn on this map, the Kharijites covered about 252,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives them across the years they are drawn, not necessarily their greatest extent in history.
Who ruled the Kharijites?: Kharijite doctrine was radical and egalitarian: any Muslim, Arab or non-Arab, slave or free, could become caliph if morally irreproachable, and sinful rulers must be deposed by force; grave sinners among Muslims were branded unbelievers, and militant wings like the Azariqa and Najdat licensed their killing. During the Second Fitna (680–692) these militant branches briefly controlled much of Arabia and southern Persia before the Umayyads destroyed them by 699.
How did the Kharijites end?: The explosion came in 740 with the Great Berber Revolt under the Sufri Maysara al-Matghari, which annihilated Umayyad armies at the Battles of the Nobles and Bagdoura and severed most of the Maghreb from Damascus. Out of this upheaval Kharijite forces seized Kairouan in 757–758, and durable Kharijite states emerged: the Ibadi Rustamid imamate at Tahert (777–909), the Sufri Midrarids of Sijilmasa (c. 757–976), and the Berghawata and others.

Sources

Every source below was consulted while writing this entry.

Wikipedia – Kharijites en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharijites

This entry was written from the sources above and last updated 10 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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